Designing Boxes

Box-making expert Doug Stowe is back with a new spin on the classic box-making book. With an eye toward thoughtful design, this book walks the reader through the thought process they need to create beautiful and functional boxes.

Designing Boxes offers many more design opportunities than would be possible in a book that attempts to be a “projects book.” Appealing to an audience that knows the basics of box making and is ready to expand their repertoire of projects, this book speaks to the woodworker who wants to develop plans of their own to meet their unique needs, express their own personalities, and gain confidence in their design skills.

This is not your basic how-to book, but is instead, a bridge between how-to and why-to. Topics include: an exploration of the materials used in box making, the relationship between the material and the craftsman, how the tools and their relationship to the maker affect design, the growth of technique as it relates to the processes of design, and principles and elements of design storytelling. Projects include a variety of boxes as a gallery of how-to design information, as well as plans taking into consideration the idea of narrative and growth. Each section would include one or two boxes that help to illustrate the design ideas.